With its inaugural season opener less than two months away, interest continues to build in the F1600 Formula F Championship, as the entry-level open-wheel racing category continues to enjoy a renaissance fueled in large part by the introduction of the Honda Fit engine in 2010.
Forty-eight drivers and teams have registered for the new, SCCA-sanctioned professional series, representing a cross-section of both experienced veterans and young, up-and-coming racers.
Drivers to watch include young, second-generation racers Colin Thompson and Jim Goughary, both running the Honda Fit engine; current SCCA Club FF Champion Tim Kautz; veteran Formula F racers Mike Scanlan, John Robinson and Bill Valet; and Canadians Charles Foster and Caitlin Johnston.
Although it’s been available and approved for competition for just one year, the Honda Fit is well represented, making up a quarter of the field – 12 of the 48 entries registered to date.
As expected, Swift and Van Diemen continue to be the most popular chassis – at 17 and 16 entries, respectively –but no fewer than 10 different marques are represented on the provisional entry, including a half-dozen American-built Pipers. Other chassis listed include Tatuus, Mondiale and Bowman.
Based primarily in the northeast, the F1600 Formula F Championship is organized and run under SCCA Pro Racing rules by the same group behind the successful F2000 Championship Series. Five doubleheader race weekends – 10 races in all – will be held in 2011.
"With five successful seasons of F2000 behind us, we are expanding our program with the new-for-2011 F1600 Formula F Championship Series,” commented Series Managing Director Michael Rand. "The demand for this new series has grown and with our structure and personnel in place, we are perfectly positioned to present an excellent schedule of events for both F1600 and F2000, with F1600 serving as the stepping stone for future F2000 competitors."
Sponsorship support for the F1600 Formula F Championship Series will be provided by Honda Performance Development; Hoosier Racing Tires; and The Mid-Ohio School. Veteran Formula F racer E.J. Generotti has commissioned the “Dangerous Cargo Cup”, to be awarded to the series champion.
In addition to the eastern U.S.-based F1600 Formula F Championship, a similar professional series is in the planning stages for the West Coast, to be run by the same organization conducting the F2000 Pacific Series. Formula F participation in SCCA Club Racing is on the rise, too, at both individual SCCA club events and at the National Championship Runoffs, which saw a nearly 20 percent increase in the size of the FF field in 2010.
More information on the F1600 Formula F Series season is available on the web at www.F1600Series .com and on Facebook. Interested participants can also call (860) 364-5252 or e-mail the Series Director, Michael Rand, at michaelrand@sbcglobal.net.
-Dan Layton
Forty-eight drivers and teams have registered for the new, SCCA-sanctioned professional series, representing a cross-section of both experienced veterans and young, up-and-coming racers.
Drivers to watch include young, second-generation racers Colin Thompson and Jim Goughary, both running the Honda Fit engine; current SCCA Club FF Champion Tim Kautz; veteran Formula F racers Mike Scanlan, John Robinson and Bill Valet; and Canadians Charles Foster and Caitlin Johnston.
Although it’s been available and approved for competition for just one year, the Honda Fit is well represented, making up a quarter of the field – 12 of the 48 entries registered to date.
As expected, Swift and Van Diemen continue to be the most popular chassis – at 17 and 16 entries, respectively –but no fewer than 10 different marques are represented on the provisional entry, including a half-dozen American-built Pipers. Other chassis listed include Tatuus, Mondiale and Bowman.
Based primarily in the northeast, the F1600 Formula F Championship is organized and run under SCCA Pro Racing rules by the same group behind the successful F2000 Championship Series. Five doubleheader race weekends – 10 races in all – will be held in 2011.
"With five successful seasons of F2000 behind us, we are expanding our program with the new-for-2011 F1600 Formula F Championship Series,” commented Series Managing Director Michael Rand. "The demand for this new series has grown and with our structure and personnel in place, we are perfectly positioned to present an excellent schedule of events for both F1600 and F2000, with F1600 serving as the stepping stone for future F2000 competitors."
Sponsorship support for the F1600 Formula F Championship Series will be provided by Honda Performance Development; Hoosier Racing Tires; and The Mid-Ohio School. Veteran Formula F racer E.J. Generotti has commissioned the “Dangerous Cargo Cup”, to be awarded to the series champion.
In addition to the eastern U.S.-based F1600 Formula F Championship, a similar professional series is in the planning stages for the West Coast, to be run by the same organization conducting the F2000 Pacific Series. Formula F participation in SCCA Club Racing is on the rise, too, at both individual SCCA club events and at the National Championship Runoffs, which saw a nearly 20 percent increase in the size of the FF field in 2010.More information on the F1600 Formula F Series season is available on the web at www.F1600Series .com and on Facebook. Interested participants can also call (860) 364-5252 or e-mail the Series Director, Michael Rand, at michaelrand@sbcglobal.net.
-Dan Layton
